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Britain’s biggest commercial insurer left shareholders stunned yesterday when it warned that the St Jude’s Day storm that ripped through northern Europe late last month would leave it nursing a hit of up to £65 million.

Shares in RSA Insurance slid 6.2 per cent to 121p after it also revealed that it would suffer £83 million of net losses after flooding in Toronto and Alberta in Canada in June and July.

The total estimated losses of up to £148 million from weather disasters meant that RSA’s claims efficiency would suffer and its return on equity would be below 10 per cent this year, it